The Biblical Archaeology Society’s July 2009 St. Olaf College Seminar

June 11, 2009 - PRLog -- WASHINGTON, D.C. — Announcing the vacation seminar Biblical Controversies, Conundrums and Characters: Sorting Through All the Evidence to be held July 5–11, 2009, at St. Olaf’s College in Northfield, Minnesota. Lectures to be held over the six-day period will address some of the most controversial and compelling topics in Biblical scholarship.

Lectures will be presented by two preeminent researchers in the field of Biblical archaeology and research: Dr. James Tabor of the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and Dr. Tina Wray, of Salve Regina University. Both scholars will be arriving directly from their excavations in Israel—participants in this seminar will be the first to hear about the latest discoveries from Mt. Zion.  In addition to an account of their latest discoveries, Dr. Tabor and Dr. Wray will be addressing hot-button topics in Biblical scholarship such as:
•   What does archaeology tell us about the last days of Jesus?
•   What does the Bible teach us about death, afterlife, and resurrection?
•   How has the figure of Satan changed in Biblical literature?
•   When did Christianity really begin?

Dr. James Tabor has excavated at some of the most important sites in the field of Biblical archaeology, including Qumran, the site located just yards from the caves where many of the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered. Tabor is a popular public lecturer and writer and is often consulted by the national media (Time, Newsweek, USNews&World Report, The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Harpers, Associated Press, NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX), and his work has been featured in several TV documentaries (PBS Frontline, the Discovery Channel, Learning Channel, History Channel, BBC and Channel 4 UK).

Dr Tina Wray of Salve Regina University has twice received the Presidential Award for academic excellence. The author of several books, most recently Good Girls, Bad Girls: The Enduring Lessons of Twelve Women of the Old Testament (Rowman & Littlefield, 2008), Dr. Wray has appeared on National Public Radio, several television documentaries on the History Channel, and various other television and radio programs across the country.

Included in the program fee are all accommodations, all lectures, room and board, refreshment breaks, a final banquet and Continuing Education units. Full details of the seminar can be viewed at www.biblicalarchaeology.org/stolaf. For more information, please call the Biblical Archaeology Society at 202.364.3300, ext. 208.

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The Biblical Archaeology Society (BAS) was founded in 1974 as a nonprofit, nondenominational, educational organization dedicated to the dissemination of information about archaeology in the Bible lands.